Maintainers Weekly Chat August 12 - August 18

You're on Page 1 of 5
Go to
  • It's just fun to have good weather and to be in summer.

    We took a neat trip to Salem, Mass to see their great Peabody Essex Museum and street fair. One was healthy the other not, LOL, as DW and I both had an Italian sausage on a HUGE roll.
  • Good Morning!

    I am going to look at the calendar and count off the weeks until moving day every time I start panicking that the house reno isn't getting done quickly enough.

    We move in October 29. We do still have a little time.

    Good week all!

    Dagmar
  • I realized this morning that it is only a matter of weeks until DH and I are officially empty nesters. That's kind of depressing.

    I've thrown out my invitation to my family (and friends) for Thanksgiving in hopes of at least one last big fling before DH and I decide to stay where we are or to look for a smaller place. I don't really want to move, and frankly there is no reason to at this point, but something inside me says we ought to.

    I had to take Louie (cat) and Misty (dog) to the vet yesterday for annual checkups. Wow. Almost $800 when we were done! Louie has been losing weight for no reason, so a full blood panel to check for--among other things--hyperthyroidism. Misty had a lipoma checked to make sure it was only that (it was) as well as a full blood panel to check for--among other things--heartworm. They each had at least one vaccination. I must love my animals! Chico goes in on Thursday for his oncologist visit where I believe they'll do a chest xray to see if he has any mets.

    When we came home from the vet, our other cat, Ringo, decided Louie was a stranger and intermittently attacked him for no reason other than he must have a new smell on him (that or blood because when they drew blood, he started bleeding and it took them a while to stop it). We had to put Ringo in the guest room for most of the evening but his wailing made it evident that we couldn't sleep with that, so we let him have the run of the house and put Louie in our bedroom with the dogs and us. That was fine until 1 am when Ringo tried to break down our door. I let him in and there was no fighting, but Louie was clearly uncomfortable with the situation. This morning Ringo attacked Louie at least once and he isn't eating, either. Darn cats.
  • Good morning! First couple days back at work went well I think. I'm working from home this morning and off this afternoon to take the girls to the pediatrician. I'm wondering how much they're going to weigh, because they are getting really big!

    Weighing in on last week's chat thread, I am also a fangirl. If any other fangirls want to connect on tumblr send me a pm.
  • Glad things are going well Jessica!

    Allison... My cats do that all the time. Charlotte does it to Wilbur for a week after they go to the vet. If he goes without her, I understand he might smell funny. But even if she goes with him, she still blames him!

    Speaking of cats.... Only cat people will get this. My dd moved with her laid back kitty to Texas. He's never had an issue with anything before including flying and driving. Not this time. He was so traumatized he hid behind the toilet in her new apartment for almost a month! Last week he decided he would grace her with his presence and now is acting totally normal! His first night out of the bathroom he chewed through her Internet cords!

    Dd and dh drive to Arizona tomorrow. I am flying later in the day and hopefully we will all arrive at roughly the same time. Cross your fingers that we can fit everything in my car including six chairs and tons of boxes!
  • What an array of life experiences are happening here: Allison is about to become an empty nester, Michele is feathering her offspring's nest, and Jessica has returned to work but has hatchlings to watch over.

    As for me, on my first day back at work after that tiring trip, all I can say is: There was a really big cockroach in my kitchen at 4:30 AM this morning. Like, really big. Despite my "Oh no no no no!" and repeated, desperate blasts from a can of Raid, it sheltered underneath my refrigerator. Now THAT will be an appetite deterrent today. There will be no standing speculatively before the open door this afternoon. But there will be a call to building maintenance to set up an exterminator visit. I think it came inside where I rarely see them (at least, ones that big!) because its home under the electrical substations & etc. has been disrupted by the installation of individual meters ruined by the flood. At any rate, it is NOT welcome and I am squirming in my chair with disgust today. Maybe with the place empty so much lately for my vacation and business trip, the roaches think they can move in & settle down. They are WRONG.
  • Cats are CRAZY! I have found that having 10 of them actually cuts DOWN on the fighting. I compare them to growing up in a house of siblings - I grew up with just my brother and I and we fought CONSTANTLY. But my friends who came from large families with lots of kids - they almost never fought. I think that having so many around they can "hang out" with who they want LOL

    The discussion from last week's chat about vigilance versus obsession has been on my mind a lot.

    If we look at obesity as a disease - would we (or society) judge a brittle diabetic who checks everything for a sugar count? Or how about someone with Celiac Disease - would we think they were abnormal for "obsessively" looking for gluten free items?

    Last year, shortly before I hit goal, DH and I were on vacation. We were in this resort type town and there were ice cream stands everywhere. I hadn't had any ice cream in like 2 years and I actually started CRYING, yes CRYING, because I wanted to have some ice cream SO BAD, but it was not "allowed". That, I think, is sick and obsessional.

    But wanting to know where I'm going for dinner so I can get online and check the calorie counts beforehand? That's just vigilance?

    Jen
  • I just got caught up on the obsession, vigilance and disorder discussion from over the weekend on last week's thread. I definitely am prone to compulsive exercising, as Saef described. I also am very quick to pound myself with an extra hour or exercise if I feel I've slipped somewhere. I believe that if I'm not careful I can let that easily slip into a disorder. It is pretty clear that I have some unofficially diagnosed OCD, and I have been told by therapists that I have an addictive personality that falls easily into routines that I can't get back out of, even if those routines are self destructive. I struggle not to let exercise and diet become those - sometimes I feel like my obsessive tracking down to the minute of exercise is setting me up to fall, sometimes it feels like control keeping me safe. Varies with mood, I guess. And other circumstances around me. I grip down harder when I'm out of control other places. Though that is also when I'm morel likely to step off path and fall harder. Saef, I'm going to save your posts and refer back to them when I can think about them more.

    Jen - I watched some Warehouse 13 early on, would like to catch up.

    Those fanfolk among you will appreciate my Saturday night - our local science museum did their annual "Night at the Museum" science and science fiction night. People wandered around in costume and character for the kids to talk to and ask questions. We had storm troopers, star trek, firefly crew, several dr. who characters, a full size lit up tardis, Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, the Wright brothers, Rosalind Franklin and many others. The museum is very hands on, so the scientists were set up at exhibits that applied to their work, many of the costumed volunteers are school teachers and scientists IRL. It was awesome. And CROWDED. I was pleased to see how many kids were there and having a great time.
  • Jen~that's a good point. On vacation I sat at lunch with a woman who had refused her lasagna and I asked why. She has celiac disease. We had a good conversation about it, mainly my asking if the new "fad" of people wanting gluten free food has helped her in shopping/dining. She did indicate that there seemed to be more choices readily available that weren't there a few years ago, but she said she pretty much sticks to the tried and true things to eat that she knows won't hurt her. I think if I had true celiac disease (rather than following a fad), I'd be awfully skeptical about the dishes put in front of me at a restaurant. After our tour guide contacted the kitchen, they brought her a plate of pasta with marinara sauce. They said the pasta was gluten free, but if I had celiac disease, I'd be wary to eat that.

    While I was on vacation, I allowed myself ice cream. Granted it isn't good for me and I gained weight, but gosh darn it--I was on vacation! I'm paying for it now, of course! Nowhere would I have been able to find calorie counts for the stuff served onboard the ship (I assume--I didn't ask). I did make good choices most of the time and didn't eat myself into oblivion.

    Oh, and the cats--remember my neighbor with 15 cats? You're right. They don't fight. There are some that hang out in the living room, some in the guest room, some in the back part of the house. They get along just fine.
  • To add to the cat discussion, my cat Wilbur is the only one who will wear a collar. We put one on Charlotte once and she literally sat paralyzed for over a day until we took it off. Somehow Wilbur's collar must have fallen off last night and we haven't found it yet. He is acting so bizarre. Charlotte accidentally got locked in my office last night so she is acting strange too!
  • AAARGH! My dad is trying to stir up trouble again. Either that or he's permanently now in la-la land. I wish the folks at the facility where he is being cared for would accept that he's delusional and quit bugging me to try to change his permanently fixed state of mind.

    I am going to take 3 deep breaths instead of heading for the fridge.

    Dagmar
  • Dagmar.
  • I went over and whacked around in the back garden at the new house last night, instead of sulking and eating. Found two nice hostas and a hydrangea in all the mess and cut down two very badly diseased shrub/trees.

    My gardening folks are nowhere to be found so I've decided I'm going to cut some stuff down and tear some up, to see what's really back there. I know enough about plants to pull up weeds and there are lots of things to practice my pruning on

    Dagmar
  • Warning, the folllowing may be TMI for some; just skip this paragraph if you prefer not to read about bodily fluids:
    Jessica,
    My first day back at work after maternity leave is still fresh in my mind even though the most recent occurrence of that was nearly 8 years ago. 6 weeks each time (3 DSs). A mixture of anxiety, relief and annoyance at having to use a breast pump (I never got over the feeling of being milked like a cow, even though I did it for 6 months with each DS). Are you able to work from home frequently? Does your DH take them completely out of earshot? I ask because I never had the option of working from home, but I did have a babysitter who came to our house, and I had her bring my DSs to me at work at lunchtime to nurse in person. That 30 min. during an 8-10 hour day was really helpful at allowing me to focus on non-baby issues the rest of the time. Minus, of course, the 2 milking sessions I also did each day. Note, with some practice, you can get pretty good at reading and answering email 1-handed with the infernal contraption attached to your boobs They sell a hands-free adaptor kit if you want.

    Shannon,
    totally jealous of your "Night at the Museum" event. We also have a local science museum. I wonder if I could loan them the idea? We're members; I might just try :>)

    Michele,
    hope you enjoy the trip to TX. Will your DD be back for winter holidays, or is she moving for a few years? Is she your only child?

    I am once again slacking on measuring portions and counting calories, and it shows. Up 3 pounds from post-Greece weight, right back to the pre-Greece numbers. Saef, I feel exactly like you - I lose weight on business trips (and, apparently, vacation) because my home habits are obviously more lax than the vigilance I exercise when my guard is up. This has got to stop. It's one thing to gain weight because I refuse to live my life eating 1200 calories; it's quite another to gain weight because I'm sliding into 1800+ daily territory, even without any binging. Today, I vow to start recording my food -again-.
  • So far my little point system is working. I'm still not exercising like I ought to, but the weight is coming off. It'll be a long road, though.

    Last night I fixed a "Greek" salad for dinner. It was nothing like the Greek salads we had in Greece, though. In Greece, we'd get a plate with tomatoes, cucumbers, feta and a meat or two on the side. Olive oil for drizzling and bread on the side. And a bowl of kalamata olives. My salad started with lettuce (Romaine and spinach), some shredded chicken for protein, red onions, kalamata olives, assorted peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes and feta. And instead of olive oil I used Greek dressing for more flavor. And pepperocinis on the side.